Kids Who Exercise Are Less Likely to Have Fractures in Old Age

by | Mar 27, 2013 | Exercise, General Health, How Your Body Works, Obesity | 0 comments

It turns out that strengthening bone to avoid fractures starts at a very young age.

Bones become more porous and brittle with age, because the cells responsible for building bone become less active and can no longer keep up with the cells that destroy and remove old bone cells. Physical activity can shift this balance toward maintaining a healthy amount of bone growth,

Physical activity, such as the exercise children get in school gym classes, is important for fighting obesity, but the latest research suggests it may help to keep bones strong as well

Link to the article

Womens study

Eating habits are contagious infographic

by | Jan 25, 2013 | Obesity | 0 comments

Below is a post at Jimmy Moore’s about eating habits that I have commented on

 

Jimmy Moore:

Eating habits are contagious infographic: http://www.nourishinteractive.com/blog/8…nfographic ~ Fascinating new health infographic for you to check out. They claim you’re 57% more likely to be obese if your friend is obese? But I contend this statistic is only true if you have not become enlightened to find the nutritional plan that is right for you. Then again, perhaps you find friends that look like you–and if you’re obese, they’re obese. The pressure to fit into your circle by eating what they do can contribute. But Paleo and low-carb dieters are well aware of the challenge of being a part of the group while staying true to your dietary principles can be tricky. It’s not impossible or inevitable though.

 

Me:

I see too basic human traits being played out here.

The first that if you can say that obesity is something that’s contagious then you can legitimately hold up your hands and say “It’s not my fault, I caught it from somebody else” which is a very nice way of sidestepping any responsibility that you might have for your body being the way it is.

The second thing is that people generally prefer people who reinforce their own way of being and conversely will avoid people who make them feel uncomfortable about the person that they are. So it should be no surprise that you will find overweight people preferring to mix with other overweight people. They simply have so much more in common.

Cheers,

Mark

Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Carbs, Obesity | 0 comments

Here is another of my comments on a post at Jimmy Moore’s about gut bacteria

 

Jimmy Moore’s post:

Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?: You’ve gotta read this outstanding column from a registered dietitian I’d never heard of before named Peter Curcio who says “the universal fear of dietary fat” is very likely “what’s behind the current obesity epidemic.” He notes our high-carb diet has caused our healthy gut flora to become “imbalanced” and that we should be looking at these “gut buddies” (as Dr. Steven Gundry describes them) as “an organ” in our bodies with specific functions. Cut the grains, flour, sugar and omega-6-rich vegetable oils from your diet to reduce inflammation and “keep our bacteria microflora happy and thriving.” It’s the way our bodies were meant to run optimally for controlling weight and health and it has nothing at all to do with calories.

 

My comment:

In part I would agree with Peter Curcio, the average carbohydrate rich diet surely has caused not just our stomach bacteria to become imbalanced but also the enzymes that our digestive system uses to further break down food. If it were just an imbalance between good bacteria that probably wouldn’t be that bad but unfortunately the high carbohydrate diet that most people consume in the west actually promotes the growth of harmful bacteria whose presence and toxins that they generate go on to poison the body in a whole host of ways giving rise to numerous symptoms that are unfortunately blamed on other things so the cause of the problem is never really tackled.

Another big problem that is very much a hangover from the high carbohydrate camp is the assumption that we must have lots of fiber in our diet in order for our digestive system to work properly. Various scientific writings have gradually trickling through that showed that we don’t actually need as much fiber as has been previously though and in fact the high consumption of fiber which I should add passes through the body and digested actually acts as a nice medium for those same bad bacteria to grow in and multiply as they pass through our digestive system. You can find more about this by visiting doctor-natasha.com.

All in all it’s not difficult to see that there is a definite connection between the quality of the bacteria we have in our digestive tract and not just obesity but many other health problems that beset a population whose diet is just far to high in carbohydrates and not rich enough in good quality proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals that can be easily obtained though a sensible low carbohydrate diet.

Cheers,

Mark

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Link to the article

 

Dieting Does Not Seem to Matter in Health of Obese Seniors Age 75 and Older

by | Jan 18, 2013 | Diet, Obesity | 0 comments

Another one of the post at forum.lowcarber.org that I have commented on regarding obesity and diet 

 

IdahoSpud said:

Reports even suggest there may be survival benefits associated with overweight, mild obesity among the elderly

Jan. 15, 2013 – Putting senior citizens age 75 and up – described as of “advanced age” – on an overly restrictive diet to treat their excess weight and other conditions appears to have little benefit, according to researchers at Penn State and Geisinger Healthcare System. 

Eating diets high in sugar and fat may not affect the health outcomes of such elderly people, the researchers say.

“Historically people thought of older persons as tiny and frail,” said Gordon Jensen, head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State, “but that paradigm has changed for many older persons. 

“Currently, 30 percent or more may be overweight, and by 2030, almost 30 percent are projected to be obese, not just overweight. Recent reports even suggest that there may be survival benefits associated with overweight and mild obesity status among the elderly.” 

“We all know that adverse dietary patterns, such as a Western diet containing high amounts of fat or a diet containing high amounts of refined sugar, both of which may contribute to obesity, are associated with adverse medical conditions and health outcomes for many people, but until now, the health effects of these types of poor diets have not been characterized for people who live to 75 years of age and older,” said Pao Ying Hsao, postdoctoral fellow at Penn State. 

The team’s research is part of a decades-long collaborative study between Penn State and the Geisinger Healthcare System on the effects of nutritional status and diet on the health of more than 20,000 older people living in Pennsylvania. In the current study, the team followed 449 individuals for five years who were on average 76.5 years old at the beginning of the study. 

“This is one of the first studies to examine obesity-related health outcomes and dietary patterns in such aged persons,” Jensen said. 

At study baseline, the team assessed the participants’ dietary patterns by calling each of them by telephone four or five times during a 10-month period and asking them about their diets over the previous 24 hours. 

The participants were categorized as adhering to one of three different dietary patterns. 

● The “sweets and dairy” pattern was characterized by the largest proportions of energy from baked goods, milk, sweetened coffee and tea and dairy-based desserts, and the lowest intakes of poultry. 

● The “health-conscious” pattern was characterized by relatively higher intakes of pasta, noodles, rice, whole fruit, poultry, nuts, fish and vegetables, and lower intakes of fried vegetables, processed meats and soft drinks. 

● The “Western” pattern was characterized by higher intakes of bread, eggs, fats, fried vegetables, alcohol and soft drinks, and the lowest intakes of milk and whole fruit. 

Using outpatient electronic medical records, the researchers identified whether the participants developed cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension (high blood pressure) and metabolic syndrome during the five-year period. 

They found no relationship between dietary pattern and prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome or mortality in the participants; however, they did find an increased risk of hypertension in people who followed the “sweets and dairy” pattern. 

The results appeared in this month’s issue of the Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging. 

“We don’t know if the participants had been following these dietary patterns their entire adult lives, but we suspect they had been because people don’t usually change dietary practices all that much,” Jensen said. 

“The results suggest that if you live to be this old, then there may be little to support the use of overly restrictive dietary prescriptions, especially where food intake may already be inadequate. However, people who live on prudent diets all their lives are likely to have better health outcomes.” 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service funded this work. 

Other authors on the paper include Diane Mitchell, researcher in nutritional sciences at Penn State; Donna Coffman, research assistant professor of health and human development at Penn State; Terryl Hartman, professor of nutrition at Penn State; and G. Craig Wood and Christopher Still of Geisinger Healthcare System.

 

My comment:

Concluding my first read-through this article was another pointless study. However I thought I might have missed something so I read it again. This time I reached a different conclusion: Another totally pointless study.

As anglgrl pointed out, all of the categories that they used were carb-loaded one way or another. I just wonder exactly what the United States Department of Agriculture Research Service were trying to find out, as in which cheap ingredients are they planning to promote next?

jr4bbit has summed it up very nicely when he says, what is the point of studies like this?

Cheers,

Mark

Obese youngsters at far greater risk than had been supposed

by | Jan 18, 2013 | Obesity | 0 comments

This is a copy of the post at forum.lowcarber.org where I have commented on about childhood obesity

 

IdahoSpud:

While a great deal of research on childhood obesity has spotlighted the long-term health problems that emerge in adulthood, a new UCLA study focuses on the condition’s immediate consequences and shows that obese youngsters are at far greater risk than had been supposed.

Compared to kids who are not overweight, obese children are at nearly twice the risk of having three or more reported medical, mental or developmental conditions, the UCLA researchers found. Overweight children had a 1.3 times higher risk.

“This study paints a comprehensive picture of childhood obesity, and we were surprised to see just how many conditions were associated with childhood obesity,” said lead author Dr. Neal Halfon, a professor of pediatrics, public health and public policy at UCLA, where he directs the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities. “The findings should serve as a wake-up call to physicians, parents and teachers, who should be better informed of the risk for other health conditions associated with childhood obesity so that they can target interventions that can result in better health outcomes.”

With the dramatic rise in childhood obesity over the past two decades, there has been a parallel rise in the prevalence of other childhood-onset health conditions, such as attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, asthma and learning disabilities. But previous studies on the topic have been limited due to a narrow focus on a specific region of the county, a small sample size or a single condition.

The new UCLA research, a large population-based study of children in the United States, provides the first comprehensive national profile of associations between weight status and a broad set of associated health conditions, or co-morbidities, that kids suffer from during childhood.

Overall, the researchers found, obese children were more likely than those who were classified as not overweight to have reported poorer health; more disability; a greater tendency toward emotional and behavioral problems; higher rates of grade repetition, missed school days and other school problems; ADHD; conduct disorder; depression; learning disabilities; developmental delays; bone, joint and muscle problems; asthma; allergies; headaches; and ear infections.

For the study, the researchers used the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, analyzing data on nearly 43,300 children between the ages 10 and 17. They assessed associations between weight status and 21 indicators of general health, psychosocial functioning and specific health disorders, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.

Of the children in the study, 15 percent were considered overweight (a body mass index between the 85th and 95th percentiles), and 16 percent were obese (a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher).

The study, which is currently available online, will be published in the January-February print issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics.

The UCLA researchers speculate that the ongoing shift in chronic childhood conditions is likely related to decades of underappreciated changes in the social and physical environments in which children live, learn and play. They propose that obesity-prevention efforts should target these social and environmental influences and that kids should be screened and managed for the co-morbid conditions.

The researchers add that while the strength of the current study lies in its large population base, future studies need to examine better longitudinal data to tease out causal relationships that cannot be inferred from a cross-sectional study.

“Obesity might be causing the co-morbidity, or perhaps the co-morbidity is causing obesity – or both might be caused by some other unmeasured third factor,” Halfon said. “For example, exposure to toxic stress might change the neuroregulatory processes that affect impulse control seen in ADHD, as well as leptin sensitivity, which can contribute to weight gain. An understanding of the association of obesity with other co-morbidities may provide important information about causal pathways to obesity and more effective ways to prevent it.”

 

My comment:

This study is somewhat limited as it only looks at children between the ages of 10 and 17. Yet probably everyone of us know quite a few youngsters who are much younger than that and are grossly overweight which does rather point to the unmeasured third factor mentioned by Mr. Halfon. His example of exposure to toxic stress moving through to ADHD seems more of an open invitation to receive funding rather than a legitimate reason for the problem with childhood obesity. In fact in many ways, they seem to me, to have  missed entirely the point at comparison of children’s heights, weights and body shape from the 1950s, say, with those that we see around us now. Tied into the diet that both groups were eating would reveal a lot more than the study I believe.

Problems that we see within our child population now just weren’t around back then but neither were the children who grew up back then faced with a diet that was rich in sugar grain and other high carbohydrate ingredients. Neither did they have open access to copious quantities of sugar-filled carbonated drinks that the youngsters of today drink without any moderation whatsoever. While the children who grew up in the 50s and 60s may not have had copious quantities of it they still had meat and an assortment of vegetables as part of their regular fare, something that is sadly missing from the diet of many youngsters today.

Common sense together with a little understanding of history, a small amount of research points to the simple fact that this problem is really down to three main factors. Firstly, the western population has become slowly, over the last few decades, less and less educated about what constitutes a good diet which together with the fact that general food preparation skills aren’t being passed on as they used to be has meant that people are more and more becoming reliant upon convenient foods as a way of providing nutrition to their family. That is of course augmented through the pressure of smart marketing campaigns that leveraged social pressure pseudo science and takes full advantage of the ignorance of its target market. Those first two factors lead ultimately to the last factor which is that people now make exceptionally poor food choices not just for themselves but for their children as well; consequences of which we are seeing all around us.

The UCLA researchers preposition that obesity prevention should target social and environmental influences is more or less half right but together with those social and environmental influences, they need to understand that this include the need to better educate both children and parents for at least the two next generations in order to reverse and recover from the problem that we’re seeing with overweight youngsters right now.

Cheers,

Mark

 

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Link to Study